ATHENS — After a disappointing regular season, Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney was blunt in his assessment. It was disappointing and needed to get better, and he would sit down with Kirby Smart after the season to discuss that.
It’s not clear whether Chaney and Smart have had that big meeting, what with recruiting and all. But Chaney used an interesting term on Wednesday when speaking extemporaneously about the offense.
Chaney, during an interview with Kevin Butler on the in-house Georgiadogs.com broadcast, was asked about Nick Chubb and Sony Michel coming back for their senior years. It was Chubb and Michel who had that October meeting with Chaney about not getting the ball enough, and Chaney expressed even more willingness Wednesday to change in 2017.
“We’re gonna tweak some things. We’re going to freshen some things up on offense,” Chaney said. “Those kids understand that, and are excited about that too.”
Georgia’s offense finished last season ranked 87th nationally in total yardage and the team finished 102nd in scoring offense.
Butler asked Chaney what he’d like to see improve most this season.
“I think I’d like to see us ultimately block better,” Chaney said. “I think blocking is a lost art sometimes. We play fast, and we do things like that, and that’s how we strategically attack defenses nowadays in modern college football. But inevitably you’ve got to line up and block somebody. So I’d love to leave spring feeling like we were a much better blocking football team.”
To that end, of course, Georgia has signed several highly-ranked linemen, including Isaiah Wilson, and Chaney indicated in the same interview that they must come in ready to play.
“There isn’t a young man that we’re bringing in that you could say, Boy he’s going to have to sit out a few years and gain that size and that strength the way the old days we used to do it,” Chaney said. “Most of the kids these days are walking in with the size and the speed that you’re looking for to be able to compete. Now how quick can they pick up the playbook, how quick can they adjust to the speed of the SEC game, who knows those questions. But they walk in and they look right when they walk in the door.”
What else is Chaney looking to improve? He said the main goals for spring practice, which starts in about six weeks, are for everybody to “understand the importance of the football,” i.e. ball security. He also mentioned players getting more familiar with terminology, and one more thing.
“And to have the playmakers emerge through this spring, and have some young players rise up and play good football,” Chaney said. “And so there’s a lot of goals in the back of my mind as we go.”